Templates and records · ISO 17025 · Clause 7.9
Laboratory complaints log under ISO 17025
Handling each complaint with two requirements specific to laboratories: whoever decides cannot have been involved in the work complained about, and the complainant receives an acknowledgement, progress reports and formal notice of closure.
In one sentence
The complaints log of an accredited laboratory records the receipt and validation of the complaint, the investigation, the decision on actions, the independent person who reviews and approves it, the communications to the complainant —acknowledgement, progress and outcome— and formal notice of closure, because clause 7.9 of ISO/IEC 17025 requires a documented process that includes tracking and recording each complaint and the actions taken.
- Where the standard requires it
- ISO 17025 · Clause 7.9 Clauses are cited using the numbering of ISO/IEC 17025:2017, the current edition and the same one the Academy uses.
- Type of information
- Mandatory record Tracking and recording of complaints and of the actions taken (7.9.3)
- Who fills it in
- Quality lead The decision is taken or approved by someone outside the work complained about
- When
- From the moment it is received The acknowledgement goes out straight away; the response time is set by the procedure
- How long it is kept
- Set by the laboratory The standard requires a retention time to be defined for each record, consistent with contractual and legal obligations (8.4.2). Covering at least the accreditation cycle lets you show the history at every reassessment.
What the standard requires
What ISO 17025 demands and what it leaves to your judgement
The laboratory needs a documented process to receive, evaluate and make decisions on complaints, available to any interested party on request. It covers how the complaint is received, validated and investigated, how it is decided what to do, how follow-up is recorded and how appropriate action is ensured.
The laboratory receiving the complaint is responsible for gathering and verifying the necessary information. It acknowledges receipt, keeps the complainant informed of progress and outcome, and gives formal notice of the end of complaint handling where possible.
The outcome communicated to the complainant is made by, or reviewed and approved by, someone not involved in the laboratory activities in question. This independence requirement is specific to ISO/IEC 17025.
Structure
Fields the template should include
- Number, date, channel and complainant
- Work affected: report, sample, date
- Description of the complaint
- Validation: does it relate to laboratory activities?
- Acknowledgement of receipt and date
- Investigation and conclusions
- Actions: correction, nonconforming work, corrective action
- Independent person who decides or approves
- Progress and outcome communications
- Formal notice of closure
Example
Example: complaint about a nickel result
Company, people and figures are fictitious: the example only shows what a properly completed record looks like.
| Field | Content |
|---|---|
| Complaint | QJ-2026-011 · 14 April 2026 · email from an industrial customer |
| Work | Report IE-26-1873 · nickel 62 µg/L, above its limit of 50 |
| Validation | Valid: it concerns a result issued by the laboratory |
| Acknowledgement | 14 April |
| Investigation | Retained sample reanalysed: 60 µg/L · batch controls within criteria |
| Decision | Result confirmed; no nonconforming work · approved by the quality lead, who was not involved in the test |
| Outcome communicated | 22 April, with the reanalysis data and the uncertainty |
| Closure | Formal notice of closure on 22 April |
At the audit
Mistakes auditors commonly flag
- The complaint is settled by the same technician who ran the test.
- Complaints received by phone that never reach the log.
- No acknowledgement of receipt or formal notice of closure.
- Justified complaints that are not treated as nonconforming work.
- The complaints process is not made available to a customer who asks for it.
In Kimobox
How this record is kept in Kimobox
- 1Each complaint is logged on a form with its workflow, and final approval is assigned to someone other than the person who did the work.
- 2If the complaint reveals nonconforming work, it is linked to it and to the earlier results it might affect.
- 3Actions are assigned with a date and the system alerts you if they slip.
Frequently asked questions
What people ask us before getting started
Who can decide on a complaint?
Any authorised person not involved in the laboratory activities the complaint concerns. ISO/IEC 17025 requires the outcome communicated to be made, or reviewed and approved, by someone independent of that work.
Is every complaint nonconforming work?
No. Many complaints are resolved by confirming the result. If the investigation shows that the work did not meet requirements, it is also handled as nonconforming work.
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Sources
Where each figure comes from
References to the official text in force. If a standard is revised, this page is updated and the review date says so.